Oats Vegetable Upma (Savory Oats with veggies)

A very quick and healthy dish that you can make in about 20 minutes! Since I am on a gluten free diet now, I am looking to use oats in different recipes. Here I tried to replace the traditional sooji or semolina with oats. Upma is a traditional south indian breakfast dish made with semolina.

The first time I tried making it with oats, it didn’t come out that good. It had a sticky, slimy feel. Then I tried it the next time by first coarsely grinding the oats before dry roasting them. That helped to give a better texture overall to the upma. Also added veggies the next time and it came out really good. I am sure adding peanuts or other nuts would only further enhance this simple dish.

In a food processor, coarsely grind the oats – 1 or 2 quick pulses. Dry roast this ground oats in a kadai or a wok style pan for about 4-5 minutes on medium heat until it gets slightly browned. Keep aside.

In a small cooking pot, boil the water.

While the water is boiling, to the same kadai, add the oil. Then add the mustard seeds and the jeera. When they start spluttering, add the onions, green chillies and curry leaves. sauté for about 1 minute. Add the veggies and the salt. Now add the roasted oats and sauté together for about 1-2 minutes. now add the hot water slowly little bit at a time stirring the oats and veggie mixture continuously to avoid lumps. Add the entire cup of water and continue to stir until you get a smooth moist texture – about 2 minutes. Turn heat off. Serve upma warm!